China doubles Beijing flood death toll

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – A woman cleans mud from her home in the Fangshan district of Beijing, China, July 25, 2012. Fangshan suffered some of the worst damage after the heaviest rain in 60 years.

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – A man slogs through mud past damaged vehicles after flooding Tuesday, July 24, in Laishui, China, north of Beijing. The heaviest rain in 60 years submerged large parts of the Chinese capital.

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

china flood fangshan – A woman cleans mud from her home in the Fangshan district of Beijing, China, July 25, 2012

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – Weekend flooding leaves vehicles tossed about on roads in Laishui, a town in northern China's Hebei province.

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Flooding in China – Water pours over a collapsed bridge leading to Laishui on Tuesday. The heavy rains have affected more than 6 million people in China.

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – A farmer stands in his flooded field on the outskirts of Chongqing in southwest China on Sunday, July 22.

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – The downpour causes chaos on a flooded Beijing street on Saturday, July 21. About 6.7 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Chinese capital and as much as 18 inches in the suburban Fangshan district.

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – A cyclist rides through a flooded street in Beijing during heavy rainfall Saturday. More rain is forecast as Beijing cleans up after the weekend downpour.

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Flooding in China – Municipal workers try to clear water on a section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau expressway, where more than 80 cars were submerged on Monday, July 23, in Beijing.

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Flooding in China – Soldiers try to clear water on a section of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao expressway on July 23, 2012 in Beijing, China.

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Flooding in China – Rescuers evacuate an elderly woman from her flooded home in Chongqing, southwest China, July 23, 2012.

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Flooding in China – As the floodwater cleared, the damage became clearer. These cars are wedged in a hole in Beijing, July 23, 2012.

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Flooding in China – A farmer piles up chickens that drowned at a flooded farm in the outskirts of Chongqing, China, July 22.

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Photos:Flooding in Beijing

Flooding in China – Two men watch as emergency services personnel try to retrieve a damaged bus which was submerged in a flooded carpark after a storm hit Beijing, July 22, 2012.

Flooding in China – A Beijing resident carrying buckets of water as she makes her way home through a storm on Saturday, July 21.

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Flooding in China – Commuters make their way home through roadside debris as a storm hits Beijing, July 21.

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Flooding in China – A resident checks his damaged home after a storm hit the city, July 22.

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Flooding in Beijing – A flood-swept car is lodged against a building at a railway crossing in Beijing on Saturday, July 21.

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Story highlights

Death toll from weekend flooding up to 77, Beijing officials said

Chief of Fangshan district apologizes for flood damage in Beijing district

Locals angered by precise figures on number of animals killed, Global Times reports

Heaviest rain in 60 years overwhelmed Beijing's water system

Chinese authorities have more than doubled the official death toll from last weekend's flooding that swamped highways, homes and farms across the capital.

Officials from the Beijing flood control headquarters said late Thursday that 77 people died in the downpour, the worst in 60 years, up from the initial toll of 37 deaths announced Sunday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The 66 victims who have been identified included five who were killed while carrying out rescue efforts, spokesman Pan Anjun said. Eleven bodies remained unidentified, he added.

Pan said a further sharp increase in the death toll was not likely because the search for missing people was winding down. He blamed the delay in updating the death toll on the time it took to recover the bodies and identify them.

The bodies of 38 people were found in the southwestern Beijing district of Fangshan, Xinhua reported, the area hardest hit by the floods.

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On Wednesday, the district's chief issued a public apology to the 800,000 people affected by the floods in the area.

"We moved 65,000 people to the highlands. But there were still many flushed away by the flood. As the district chief, I should apologize to my fellow citizens," Qi Hong said in a news conference broadcast on state-run CCTV.

Qi conceded that the flooding exposed problems with the city's infrastructure.

"We learned from this rainstorm that the city infrastructure, especially the drainage system, needs to be improved," he said.

"We are now at a critical period for flood control, and every region and government department must attach more attention to combating floods and providing disaster relief," Hui said, according to Xinhua.

In the days following the deluge, Chinese micro-bloggers unleashed a torrent of criticism over the authorities' handling of the floods. They said they received little warning of the flood risk and questioned why the city's water system was unable to cope.

The Beijing-based media group, Caixin wrote: "Why is this happening once and again? Year after year Beijing faces the same challenge, not even hosting the Olympics can provide a solution. That's how vulnerable our capital city can be."

Another user, chuntiangushi, wrote: "We can host the most luxurious Olympics and send satellites into space but can never seem to fix this drainage system. What a shame."

On Wednesday, it appeared that the disaster may have claimed the jobs of two of the city's most senior officials. However, neither resignation of the Beijing mayor or vice mayor were officially linked to the flood response.

Observers said the resignations could be part of routine leadership reshuffle. Media reports said the city's legislature is now in session and its agenda includes appointments and dismissals.